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hereinantwerp
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| Posted: Nov 09 2006 at 1:21pm | IP Logged
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Has anyone used Calvert?
I am interested in using this for my older son the next 2 years, grades 7 & 8.
HE likes the look of it. I almost ordered it for this year, and when I showed him the catalogue again recently he said, Yeah, I wish you had bought that.
I have really crashed and burned with homeschooling . . . actually it's not much to do with homeschooling, more life issues that I am taking a break, after many years, to try and deal with at last. My husband is handling the (bare minimum!) schooling temporarily to take the pressure off me, he's doing an amazing job. But that's a long story--! Anyway, this son thrives on structure. We're doing unit studies for history and science, and he eats through the books so fast, the last few weeks he keeps emerging from his room every half hour all morning looking lost and unfocused. I love using all the living books, etc., I'm really a CM person to the core tho if you read her own books on the schoolday she was fairly structured-- but I just don't think I want to PLAN everything anymore, esp. with no library to use here I have to plan EVERYTHING we want to study, and try to make it all integrated, then try to schedule and accomplish everything (where I really tend to drop the ball!). I wondered if it might fit, at least for this particular son, to have a structure for basic school that somebody else writes, and supplement from our shelves as it fits. He is very academically oriented, always has been. It looks to me like you could be done with things by 1 or so, leaving time and flexibility for other things (important to me, I want the basic structure but not every minute of the day taken, or a "rigid" feel).
I know with my younger son this kind of structured approach would not fit, but with the older one, I'm really thinking it might be best for him, and for me. I've always liked the idea of combining but their ages and styles are just so different, beyond just reading aloud which we do in the eves.
I've done Sonlight in the past and liked it, but I found it still required constant adjusting and re-working from me, and then, why even use it--!
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Angela Nelson
Mother to Simon (13), Calvin (9), and Lyddie Rose (3)
my blog: live and learn
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: Nov 09 2006 at 1:55pm | IP Logged
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hereinantwerp wrote:
Has anyone used Calvert?
...Anyway, this son thrives on structure... |
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We haven't ever used Calvert and it is Protestant.
My niece (10th grade) uses it and likes it because of the structure. She pretty much schools on her own.
So if it's structure you want, it is a do-able option.
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Cay Gibson
"There are 49 states, then there is Louisiana." ~ Chef Emeril
wife to Mark '86
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Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks
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hylabrook1
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I've used Calvert from K - 8, some grades more than once. It is very structured, very rigorous, and VERY well done. It is NOT flexible, nor does it leave time for doing unstructured things, supplementing, etc. because by the time the student finishes his/her daily work, there is no energy left. Supplemental things that are fun would work along with it. What I found lacking was time to read aloud living books, that sort of thing. History, science, are textbook based. Some of the grades include real gems -- 4th grade history is A Child's History of the World; third grade includes The Gods of Greece. There are a number of books used that are reprints of very old things that Calvert has permission to reprint. A number of things are Calvert-made, and are, without exception, excellent.
The manual from about grade 6 onward is written to the student, so it works great for someone who has a reason to have their child on "auto pilot" to a fairly large extent.
It is not Catholic, nor did I ever find it overly Protestant; maybe sort of generically Christian, which I suppose some would regard as Protestant.
In A Child's History of the World, there is some discussion of the Council of Nicaea, along with the comment that many of us recite the Nicene Creed every Sunday in church. My 10 yo dd was completely blown away by that -- this same prayer, all those hundreds of years ago. My second dd absolutely loved it, which was a blessing for me at the time, because I really needed her to be fairly independent.
Many people I know haved CLEPPed U.S. History after using Calvert for 8th grade.
I choose not to use Calvert at this point because I prefer to be "looser" with our time, and also because it doesn't fit well with the learning approach best suited to the children I am presently teaching. I do continue to rely heavily on some of the books I own that came from the days when we used Calvert.
Hope that helps you think things through.
Peace,
Nancy
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hereinantwerp
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| Posted: Nov 09 2006 at 5:31pm | IP Logged
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Thank you, these comments are very helpful!
Did you find that the children themselves that you used this with liked it? Would you call it "challenging", compared to other things at the same grade level?
The "supplementing" I was thinking of was mostly just keeping a living book read aloud going in the evenings, or looking up topics from the history or science books from the books on our shelves if we wanted another angle on things, or for further interest. Especially history--as this son reads his history encyclopedia for FUN. The past few years I feel like I just can't give him enough to keep his mind really engaged. I think he would thrive with some more challenge, and honestly he just needs more to occupy his time. Sounds crazy to say that in this world, but there's not a lot for him where we live!
The sample assignments looked excellent and varied, did you find that was true? I have a hard time figuring out what to do after all our living book readings, besides write endless narrations for the notebooks and draw maps. I would be very happy for someone else to come up with challenging and creative assignments.
THank you again for your input!
hylabrook1 wrote:
I've used Calvert from K - 8, some grades more than once. It is very structured, very rigorous, and VERY well done. It is NOT flexible, nor does it leave time for doing unstructured things, supplementing, etc. because by the time the student finishes his/her daily work, there is no energy left. Supplemental things that are fun would work along with it. What I found lacking was time to read aloud living books, that sort of thing. History, science, are textbook based. Some of the grades include real gems -- 4th grade history is A Child's History of the World; third grade includes The Gods of Greece. There are a number of books used that are reprints of very old things that Calvert has permission to reprint. A number of things are Calvert-made, and are, without exception, excellent.
The manual from about grade 6 onward is written to the student, so it works great for someone who has a reason to have their child on "auto pilot" to a fairly large extent.
It is not Catholic, nor did I ever find it overly Protestant; maybe sort of generically Christian, which I suppose some would regard as Protestant.
In A Child's History of the World, there is some discussion of the Council of Nicaea, along with the comment that many of us recite the Nicene Creed every Sunday in church. My 10 yo dd was completely blown away by that -- this same prayer, all those hundreds of years ago. My second dd absolutely loved it, which was a blessing for me at the time, because I really needed her to be fairly independent.
Many people I know haved CLEPPed U.S. History after using Calvert for 8th grade.
I choose not to use Calvert at this point because I prefer to be "looser" with our time, and also because it doesn't fit well with the learning approach best suited to the children I am presently teaching. I do continue to rely heavily on some of the books I own that came from the days when we used Calvert.
Hope that helps you think things through.
Peace,
Nancy |
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Angela Nelson
Mother to Simon (13), Calvin (9), and Lyddie Rose (3)
my blog: live and learn
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LML22
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I don't know anything about Calvert but since it is a structured program and that is what you are looking for, have you considered Seton? It is structured and CAtholic. And contrary to popular belief, they are very flexible. You can change any subject to another text if you want. The lesson plans are so easy to follow. I would check into some Catholic program as there are so many now available. It would be harder to Catholicize a protestant program.
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hylabrook1
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| Posted: Nov 10 2006 at 8:42am | IP Logged
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Angela -
It sounds as if Calvert would be a good match for your son. If he needs more to fill his time and active mind, he would probably thrill to the challenge. There is lots of writing in all subjects. Yes, the assignments are varied and often cut across subject-matter lines. For example, if in Composition they are working on outlining, after assigning some exercises in the Language Arts book they might ask you to outline part of your History chapter. Something else that is really neat is Art History, for which they use books written by one of Calvert's early headmasters. These books are very well done. There is a series of 3 books, one used each in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, A Child's History of Painting; ....of Sculpture; ...of Architecture.
I've thought more about the Catholic/Protestant thing, and I think I would describe Calvert as having "a Christian world view." It absolutely never implies any anti-Catholicism. I certainly supplemented in the area of religion, but there was nothing that needed to be "undone" as a result of using Calvert.
Overall, I would think the curriculum is itself challenging, varied, and interesting. It also provides stimulation that might lead a motivated and interested child to look more deeply into a topic. My children enjoyed what they were doing with Calvert, and the older ones still make reference to things they know or remember from the courses, as well as fondnesses for certain books or materials.
The glitch in our continuing to use Calvert was that we have a couple of children who had/have speech and language difficulties, so the amount of writing in the program was not the best way to go with them. But your son sounds like someone who would not have a problem in this area and would probably get a lot out of using Calvert.
Happy decision making!
Peace,
Nancy
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hereinantwerp
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Thank you again--
This is very assuring for me  !
hylabrook1 wrote:
Angela -
It sounds as if Calvert would be a good match for your son. If he needs more to fill his time and active mind, he would probably thrill to the challenge. There is lots of writing in all subjects. Yes, the assignments are varied and often cut across subject-matter lines. For example, if in Composition they are working on outlining, after assigning some exercises in the Language Arts book they might ask you to outline part of your History chapter. Something else that is really neat is Art History, for which they use books written by one of Calvert's early headmasters. These books are very well done. There is a series of 3 books, one used each in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, A Child's History of Painting; ....of Sculpture; ...of Architecture.
I've thought more about the Catholic/Protestant thing, and I think I would describe Calvert as having "a Christian world view." It absolutely never implies any anti-Catholicism. I certainly supplemented in the area of religion, but there was nothing that needed to be "undone" as a result of using Calvert.
Overall, I would think the curriculum is itself challenging, varied, and interesting. It also provides stimulation that might lead a motivated and interested child to look more deeply into a topic. My children enjoyed what they were doing with Calvert, and the older ones still make reference to things they know or remember from the courses, as well as fondnesses for certain books or materials.
The glitch in our continuing to use Calvert was that we have a couple of children who had/have speech and language difficulties, so the amount of writing in the program was not the best way to go with them. But your son sounds like someone who would not have a problem in this area and would probably get a lot out of using Calvert.
Happy decision making!
Peace,
Nancy |
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Angela Nelson
Mother to Simon (13), Calvin (9), and Lyddie Rose (3)
my blog: live and learn
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hereinantwerp
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Thank you for your idea--
I am actually not a Catholic tho I respect Catholics very much, this is my favorite board for its wise advice, and the only one I read any more!!
My husband does a "Bible and Breakfast" thing for religion, and will keep this up with the boys. I am also trying to incorporate more of celebrating the church year, tho the energy has been lacking for this lately! We also talk about things constantly as a family, evaluating culture from a spiritual pt. of view, totally necessary for where we live when most of the input around us is antagonistic toward any kind of christian belief. I notice lately as my son gets older we are talking more, and more, and more . . . !
LML22 wrote:
| I don't know anything about Calvert but since it is a structured program and that is what you are looking for, have you considered Seton? It is structured and CAtholic. And contrary to popular belief, they are very flexible. You can change any subject to another text if you want. The lesson plans are so easy to follow. I would check into some Catholic program as there are so many now available. It would be harder to Catholicize a protestant program. |
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Angela Nelson
Mother to Simon (13), Calvin (9), and Lyddie Rose (3)
my blog: live and learn
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time4tea
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| Posted: Nov 14 2006 at 11:06am | IP Logged
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Calvert is not Protestant. It is actually a brick and mortar private school here in Maryland, and also offers a Home Study program (which it has offered for over 100 years now). It is considered a secular school here.
God bless,
Tea
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Kelly
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Hey Angela,
We used Calvert for many years and liked it. We did not use the advisory service (which was liberating, to me-many folks I know who have used Calvert have felt like Advisory Service Prisoners...) However, if your ds is self-motivated and organized, it would probably be a great fit. It is indeed rigorous! Ultimately, it didn't fit our freeform lifestyle here, hence the sea change. But it's a decent program, I think. The older grades purportedly require more time (we didn't use it past 6th grade) I have heard of some big families using it successfully for their older children, especially. You really do have to tackle the work every day, not much getting around that. My auntie, in her late 80s, was a Calvert correspondence student when her father moved the family to South America where he was doing an engineering "gig"---she still comments on how HARD she worked on the program, but also, on how much she learned (and she's no slouch!  )
As for it's religious slant, the description "Generically Christian" is a good one. As a FPCC (that's Former Protestant Current Catholic ) I can safely say it was a comfortable program for our family. There were one or two things I didn't go for (eg it's very Gung Ho! on all things British) but on the whole, I liked it-and they did mention God, which I always like to see! We still use the Child's History of the World, as well as Child's History of Art, Architecture and Sculpture, and even the outdated Child's History of Geography. I love those books-outdatedness aside. And one more plus-everything you'll need arrives in one tidy box. Very handy.
Even tho it isn't CMy, for your current situation, it might be just the trick. You can always go back to CM later, you know 
Kelly in FL
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Calvert?
